President Sisi to participate in China-Africa Forum

CAIRO – 17 July 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will participate in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), set to be held in Beijing in September, according to presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

In a phone call with ON Live, Rady referred that Egyptian Chinese relations are very important as Beijing is a strategic partner to Cairo; hence, many committees and mechanisms were established to promote the cooperation between the two countries.

As for the leader of Dawoodi Bohra community Sultan Muffadal Saifuddin’s visit to Egypt, Rady remarked that he has offered a LE 10 million donation to Tahya Misr Fund (Long Live Egypt fund).

He added that Bohra has done many charitable activities in Egypt to renovate the ancient mosques.



This came after the meeting held between Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 8, during which Wang Yi referred that China looks forward to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s participation in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Minister of Foreign Affairs Shoukry praised the historic bilateral relations between Egypt and China, which has been promoted to include “the comprehensive strategic partnership,” referring to several meetings held between Chinese and Egyptian leaders to improve cooperation and coordination between the two states.

As for the economic cooperation between the two countries, Shoukry highlighted that Egypt praises the role played by Chinese investments in major Egyptian national projects such as the New Administrative Capital, the two coal-fired plants in the Red Sea port of Hamrawein, Ataqa water storage and pumping project, the electric train project, the project to develop Abu Qir and Alexandria line, the New Valley Phosphate Complex for the production of phosphoric acid, the expansion of the first phase of the Special Economic Zone project in the northwest of the Suez Gulf, as well as the development project of the Ain Sokhna Port.

In this regard, Shoukry expressed Egypt’s eagerness to facilitate the entrance of Egyptian exports to the Chinese market and encourage Chinese tourism to Egypt, which has witnessed a remarkable increase in the past two years. The trade volume between the two countries is estimated at about $10.985 billion in 2016.

He stressed Egypt’s keenness to support China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to promote for the values of peaceful coexistence and sustainable development as well as cultural, political and economical links between different countries.

He encouraged his Chinese counterpart to increase Chinese investments in Suez Canal for its vital importance as a main trade route in the international trade movement and an important factor in the BRI initiative.

Since President Sisi came to power, the relationship between Egypt and China has developed.

Five Egyptian-Chinese summits have been held in the last three years which means that about one-third of all summit meetings between the two countries in history were held by Sisi’s presidency in only three years.

Strategic partnership Summit

The first summit between President Sisi and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was held from December 22 - 25, 2014. Sisi’s visit was the first to China after he assumed his post as president.

Sisi welcomed the Chinese president's initiative to boost Egyptian-Chinese relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. The two sides also signed agreements on economic and technical cooperation.

The president asserted that Egypt backs the Chinese initiative for reviving the historical Silk Road which passes through 56 countries and plans to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, nuclear power, new energy and aerospace. Sisi also held a meeting with presidents of 28 Chinese universities and also met with representatives of major Chinese tourism companies.

During his visit to China, Sisi visited Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, to tour factories specializing in technology and manufacturing.
Additional Report by Jehad El-Sayed